Volunteer FAQs

Here are a few of your questions about volunteering at Vajra Varahi Healthcare answered…..

You may have many more; please don’t hesitate to contact us and ask anything we have not covered here.

Why should I volunteer at Vajra Varahi Healthcare Clinic?

Because there are people who desperately need your skills and cannot find them or afford them anywhere else.

You will gain confidence and vast experience, learn new skills, share knowledge and gain enormous satisfaction.

You will have the chance to practice in a way unlike the way we can in the West: patients are on little if any other medication and are willing and able to afford to come for treatment as often as you think they need to.

You will be supporting a community and investing in its future.

How long will I need to stay?

Most volunteers stay for 3-20 weeks, an ideal time for seeing new patients through to fruition.

How many patients will I treat each day?

It depends on your discipline; acupuncturists and homoeopaths see 15-20 patients a day. Massage and physical therapists see around 10 patients daily. You will work 5 days a week.

What will it cost me?

We ask you to contribute 8600 nepali rupees per day towards the professional interpreter who will work with you, your supplies and your food. That is currently about US $10 or £8/ day – US $310 or £240 /month.

Where will I live?

Here at the clinic in Chapagaon village. We can offer a congenial and pretty rural environment next to a major Hindu / Buddhist shrine and Vajra Varahi Buddhist monastery. You will have a clean comfortable bedroom with a bed and a sink, decent plumbing, clean drinking water, hot showers, three good meals a day, wireless internet, a modern kitchen, dining / sitting room and two roof terraces with Himalayan views!

(To counter the pleasures, electricity can be infrequent before the monsoon – sometimes available only four hours a day. But we have candles. It takes an hour into Kathmandu by 2 microbuses – but they do stop just outside the clinic!)

What about the ‘tools of my trade’ – acupuncture needles, a massage table, medicines and other equipment I might need?

We have clean modern practice rooms with chairs and footstools and a bed. We also have a massage table. We have needles and moxa, a homoeopathic pharmacy, a good first aid room and a small library of reference books. There are stethoscopes, BP monitors, otoscope, an electro machine and ion cords, cups and white coats.

You can refer patients to any other practitioner for medicine to supplement your treatment.

What do I need to bring with me?

Whatever equipment not listed above that you use for working with patients. You will also need a sleeping bag. You can purchase the toiletries you need in Nepal and the indoor shoes / sandals. You can buy an umbrella in the rainy season and warm clothes for the winter! But bring your own computer / ipod etc and connectors. Clothes are easily washed and dried at the clinic. Life is simple so you wont need a huge variety of things to wear but you will need to be modest. We can let you have a full list of suggestions if you would like.

What do I wear?

Nepal is a modest country – and we are situated next to a monastery with 56 young monks. So we ask that shoulders are covered (no string strap T shirts!). Shorts and skirts should come to the knee – or longer. In the winter months it can be cold, so warm trousers or skirts and hats are needed! In clinic you would be reasonably smart and wear the white coat we can provide you.

What happens if I get sick?

We ask all our volunteers to have good medical insurance that includes evacuation back home should that be necessary. But if you are travelling you will have that anyway. Medical care in Nepal is basic, but can deal with most common problems. There are good and good-value dentists!

We are happy to answer any questions at all you may have. We are on Skype and can talk also by phone as well as email. Write to me with your number.

My name is Nira Givon. I am a licensed acupuncturist since 1997. I live and practice acupuncture in Kodiak Alask, where I have my own clinic. At this point of my practice, I am very interested in volunteering in your clinic. I will be available starting January. I am in the process of filling out the application, and getting the letters of recommendation.
Please let me know if there is anything I need to do in preparing for the trip.
I am very much looking forward to join your clinic, so any information would be helpful.
Thank you so much,
Nira Givon L.Ac.

Nira Givon07-29-12

1.My health care specialty is Acupuncture. I received my acupuncture license in 1997 after graduating from OCOM. (Oregon College of Oriental Medicine.)

2.I have been thinking about volunteering my skills for some years now. I am a member of Acupuncture With out Borders, and am familiar with community style acupuncture. At this point in my life, I am free to take the time and do something I truly feel passionate about. After reading and researching your particular clinic, I feel it is the right place for me to volunteer. I feel it is a good fit.

3.I grew up in Israel, on a kibbutz, where it is a community based existence. I then moved to Alaska, and in 1994 went to acupuncture school in Oregon. (OCOM). Since graduating, in 1997 I owned and ran my own clinic, Center For Natural Health, where I opened the doors for teens in trouble. On Saturday mornings the teens knew they could simply walk in and receive community style acupuncture. Together we created an honest, nourishing atmosphere, where they could open up and talk.
In the spirit of living in a small town, I have been fortunate to be a vital part of many events. Organizing services, weddings and different type of events. I have had to oversee many details from beginning to end of many events.

4. My personal reason to join your clinic is my never ending drive to volunteer in a meaningful ways. I seek to be part of significant and meaningful contributions. I am satisfied when my contribution are welcomed, and needed. I feel that the opportunities for a true two way street are precious and my personal building blocks. I also am in a time where I can take the time and do something I have always wanted to do.

5. I feel very comfortable sharing my knowledge and skills. As a member of a small town , I am the only one who educates the public about Chinese Medicine. I have also worked at the Kodiak Middle School for 8 years, so teaching and relating to children is something I love to do.

6. As I have mentioned before, I run my own clinic, I have an eye for details, and I worked at the Kodiak Middle school, with kids ages 11-14. I am also, and primarily a mother of three kids. Who are now, 26, 24, 22 . So I feel that my life experience, as well as my schooling and work history , coupled with my desire to help, have a lot to contribute to your clinic.

7. I grew up in Israel, traveled in South America, and settled in Kodiak Alaska. I feel comfortable with a variety of cultures.

8.I was myself an interpreter. I worked in the school district with a hard of hearing population, where I used sign language to help them bridge and understand the mainstream classroom, and all the daily activities around them.

9.I think being a mother of three children speaks for itself regarding rolling with the punches. Life experience would subject just about anyone to the “roll with the punches” I don’t believe I could site one particular episode, other then a life long evolving, learning and growing.

10,11. .I would like to start working in the clinic on January 2013
My dates are flexible, however, January would work very well for me. As far as how long I would like to stay, I noticed that you are recommending 3-12 weeks. I feel that 3 is too short, 12 might be too long for me to be away from family, so 5-7 weeks seem perfect.

12. The question I have is if a family member could come visit during the time one volunteers?

Eduardo Guagliardi09-08-13

I was recently watching Pakchok Rinpoche’s teachings in Brazil.
I am a psychiatrist, I’m 50 and wish I could help you with my experience.
I’m working with a telehealth service and I could help physicians with some kind of online support for psychiatry, as I do with doctors from rural areas of my country.
If you are interested in this type of volunteering, please get in touch.
Thank you!

Margaux Carpentier de Caro10-13-13

To whom it may concern,
I am an Acupuncturist student at the College of Integrated Chinese Medicine in the UK.
I have been studying and practicing Acupuncture for the last three years and a half and I will be graduating in December 2013.
I am looking for voluntary Acupuncture Clinics abroad and I find the Clinic in Nepal very interesting.
Do you take practitioners who just graduated?
Could you please give me some more information about the dates?
Thank you very much for your time and your help.
Best regards,
Margaux Carpentier de Caro

Eduard Grigoryan11-14-13

Hello Nicky! My name is Eduard Grigoryan. I live in USA, more precisely in San Francisco,CA. I am licensed TCM practitioner, and was wondering if we could talk more about your volunteer program. My preferable method is skype, but email will also suffice. Hope to hear from you soon! Thanks

How You Can Help:

We also depend on volunteer practitioners to serve the healthcare needs of our communities. If you are seeking hands-on work experience and/or skill-sharing in an appreciative and rewarding atmosphere, complete our application today.

We depend on donations and grants to run our clinics, health camps, and programs. Your tax-deductable donation will make it possible for us to continue to serve the healthcare needs of small communities in Nepal.